Storm
by Hettie Hoffleboffer
Summary: Ginny wants to save Harry, but in the midst of a storm, who will come to save her?
1. Storm Part I

I don't own anything in the HP universe, it's all JKR's, and for good reason.

I own nothing but the rain.

–HH

_Storm Part I_

"The weather today will be wet, with the possible chance of thunderstorms in the lower regions near London and Cambridge. . ."

-Frank Murray, BBC Weatherman

Ginny Weasely sipped her tea as she looked out the café window into busy streets of London, thinking back to a time of her life that no longer existed, dwelling on events that happened just over a year ago.

There wasn't a time in her life that she hadn't loved Harry Potter. As a child, she often heard stories of the infant hero, only a year her senior, who miraculously survived the unforgivable killing curse, leaving nothing left but a small lighting shaped scar on his forehead, and banishing the Dark Lord Voldemort into the shadows for what seemed like forever.

It seemed like the oldest of myths the way Ginny's father told the story of young Potter's victory over the Dark Lord and then vanishing himself into the Muggle world himself for the next ten years. When she had found out that this boy, this hero, had come out of hiding to begin his education at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, to be in the same year as her older brother Ron, she was ecstatic to say the least. Even more amazing was that Ron had become Harry's best friend at Hogwarts, and her hero worship had quickly worked itself into a major crush that lasted several years.

He wasn't much to look at in the beginning, a rather scrawny looking kid with dark, untidy hair and round spectacles. But behind those spectacles were a pair of brilliant green eyes. It was these eyes that intrigued Ginny the most, allowing herself to be captivated by his quiet strength and seeing beyond the so-called heroism to see the tortured soul within him. He was simply the most beautiful person she had ever known.

Clouds soon rolled into Ginny's life however, in the form of an enchanted diary she had come across in her first year at Hogwarts. Being the naive, and insecure young girl that she was, she had become possessed by the fifty-year-old memory of Tom Riddle, the same young man who would someday grow up to kill many, many wizards, including the Potters' and making the failed attempt upon young Harry as well.

Riddle used her the way he used everyone he came in contact with, forcing her to undergo a series of torturous nightmares, and unleashing a horrific monster upon the school, petrifying several Muggle-born students. Harry Potter again came to the aid of the wizarding world, slaying the monster and vanquishing Riddle, saving Ginny from most certain doom.

Neither really knew how deeply this would affect them at the time, but a bond had formed between Harry and Ginny then, and from that moment on she knew that they were destined for each other. She waited patently for him, both of them growing up as did their friendship. Finally, at the tender age of fifteen, as Ginny began to blossom into womanhood, Harry took notice of the young woman that had suddenly grown up right before his eyes. It was then that he swore his own undying love and devotion for her.

It was the most amazing time in young Ginny's life. They loved each other deeply, able to share each others deepest concerns and secrets without fear. Their lovemaking was passionate, as though they were the only two people left in the world. And for the first time in her life, Ginny felt like the emptiness that Riddle left behind inside her had finally gone.

But all was not right with the world quite yet, for Harry had to battle a resurrected Voldemort one last time during Ginny's sixth year. It was a long and epic battle that rocked the entire wizarding world, involving hundreds of wizards, Muggles, and magical creatures of all kinds.

Unfortunately, Voldemort still had an unnameable power over Ginny, and during the final battle with Harry, he had used her and her love of Harry against him. Darkness possessed Ginny once again, and under the imperious curse, she was forced to attempt the life of her young lover.

_"Crucio!" she shouted._

_ Broken and bloodied, Harry screamed in agony on the ground, writhing in the pain that engulfed his already weakened body._

_ She fought desperately to push Tom away from her mind, but his possession over her was far too powerful, he knew her soul far too well._

_ "Now kill him," Voldemort's voice echoed in the back of her mind. He was barely alive himself, burns all over his body, she couldn't imagine how he wasn't dead yet._

_ "I hate you Tom," she cried as she once more tried to fight the will to raise her wand._

_ Voldemort laughed in his high-pitched voice, taunting her through the happy void of her body and mind from the curse he had on her. "I don't know why you bother to fight it Ginny dear. This is your destiny. Now kill Harry Potter!" he echoed._

_ Through stifled cries of pain, Harry pleaded with her once more. "No Ginny. Please!"_

_ Ginny raised her wand and turned to Harry. The lights from his emerald eyes were beginning to dim, becoming dark with the fear of imminent death._

_ Suddenly, the thought of that light diminishing from his soul fueled her anger somehow, giving her the strength to fight Tom._

_ "NO!" she shouted with everything she had. With her resistance, her own senses came flooding back, along with the pain of her own injuries. In exhaustion, she fell to the ground near Harry, dropping her wand. The last thing that she could see before she blacked out was Harry, released from the curse Ginny had on him, crawling beside her and taking her wand . . ._

_ Ginny woke in the Hogwarts infirmary the morning after, Harry in the bed beside her, barely alive himself._

_ She had so many questions racing though her mind as Ron, Hermione and Professor McGonagall explained to her how Harry used her wand to finally defeat Voldemort once and for all._

_ But it almost didn't happen at all, because of her. "The dark lord may be dead," she thought, "but there are those out there that still follow him, even in death. It will never end. There will always be someone out there that will try to use my love for Harry against him."_

_ She decided at that moment that she had to leave Hogwarts. Leave Harry. Leave all her friends and family behind forever. So much had been destroyed already, her home was gone, and many of her friends had died. She could never live with herself if she were to be used that way again to destroy the people she cared most for. It could never happen again._

_ A wash of silent tears fell over her cheeks as she packed one of her smaller bags in the dark. It killed her to do this, to leave everything behind, but in her heart she knew it was for the best. The thought gave her a quiet resignation that helped ease the pain in she felt in her heart._

_ Ginny snuck down to the hospital wing one last time to see Harry. She gulped hard as she caressed his scarred face, running her hand through his untamed hair. Kissing him sweetly on the forehead, forgetting to wipe the tears that had fallen from her face onto Harry's, she laid a note on the bedside table along with her wand. _

_ "Goodbye Harry," she whispered softly into his ear. "I will love you forever."_

_ And she hurried out of the infirmary before her cries became audible._

_ Ginny made her way around the lake to Hogsmeade, where her brothers successful joke shop, Weasley Wizard Wheezes was located. She was grateful that they had not asked many questions when they found her on the doorstep early that morning, waiting for them._

_ Though they begged her to tell them where she planned to do with the large sum of money they gave her, she said nothing. She thanked them well and left by the floo network to the Leaky Cauldron._

A silent tear fell down Ginny's face as she looked at her cup of tea. She looked back out onto the streets of London, thinking that it was probably the best place for her to have hidden. They would have expected her to leave the places she knew well, Wales perhaps, but they would have never guessed that she had stayed in the city. 

Living as a Muggle didn't seem as difficult as she thought it would be. With Hermione as a Muggle-born best girlfriend, a Muggle-obsessed father, and ex-boyfriend that lived half his life as a Muggle, having also taken Muggle studies at Hogwarts proved more useful than she expected. She lied about her age and worked as a waitress in the café she was in now. On the weekends she would take walks around the city, or enjoy some of the fascinating entertainment such as the theatre, where she could watch films. She often laughed to herself as she remembered her father wondering how on earth Muggles got along without magic. It wasn't too difficult at all.

It was far too cold to be walking around the park that afternoon, and there were no movies that she was keen on seeing, so she had decided to go to the café, have a cup of tea and watch the people go by. Taking another sip of her lukewarm tea, she thought she saw someone with dark hair, staring at her in the bookstore as she glanced across the street. She swallowed hard as she put down her cup to get a better look, but by that time they were gone.

It wasn't unusual for her to see things like this every so often. In the park or on the street. Really, anywhere she looked it seemed. She missed Harry terribly, and she thought she was having these delusions merely to quench the thirst of her sorrow for a moment.

She sighed deeply as she looked at the clock on the wall she could see from her booth, and hailed the waitress for the check.

Ginny was digging through her purse for some money as she suddenly felt warm breath against her ear and neck.

"You forgot something miss," said a familiar voice in her ear, making her freeze up.

An arm reached around her, presenting her with a nine and three-quarter inch wand, willow, with a dragon heartstring inside.

It was her wand.

Unable to move, she turned her head away from it, closing her eyes, not even wanting to look at it, at him.

"You should not have come looking for me Harry."

"You shouldn't have left," he countered, easing his way in the seat opposite her, setting the wand on the table. "You don't really think I would've let you go that easily, do you Gin?"

Unwanted tears began to burn in her still closed eyes, wincing at the nickname she'd not heard in so long.

"You know why I left. I thought I made myself clear."

"You did," he said quietly. "But you're wrong. Wrong about everything." 

Ginny finally opened her eyes. There he was, just the same as she remembered him, except now for the look of weariness on his face. The same untidy hair and brilliant green eyes that had always captivated her were still there, wanting her to come home.

But she couldn't go home.

"How did you find me anyway?"

"Well the Ministry of Magic and I've been watching you since you left, for protection's sake. Your mother insisted that we keep our distance though, let you work things out on your own, until you were ready to come home," Harry explained in an even tone, like he would when they argued sometimes, irritating her.

"And what gave you that idea," she said sharply.

"George. He showed me a letter not too long ago that had _not_ come by owl. You mentioned that you were alright, but most importantly, that you missed everyone. I knew then that it was time for you to be found."

_"Damn you George," _she thought.

"Well, I'm afraid you are the one who is wrong Harry," she said coldly. "I'm quite happy here living as a Muggle, so I'm afraid that you are simply wasting your time."

She grabbed for her coat and bag, and started to scoot out of the booth.

"Ginny," Harry said with desperate tone to his voice, grabbing her hand across the table, inflaming her body with his touch. "I can't allow you to throw away your life like this, your friends, your family," he paused a moment, "Me."

Ginny rolled her eyes at him, but didn't move from her seat, or away from the warmth of his hand.

"Voldemort is dead. He's gone now. Most of the Death Eaters are in Azkaban. It's time to come home where you belong, and begin your life again. You don't have to be afraid anymore. We have each other. I love you, and I know you still love me. You don't have to do this."

She pulled her hand away. "Voldemort will never be gone from me Harry. He is inside of me. Dead or alive, I will carry a part of him in me for the rest of my life. I'm nothing but a danger to us all. Besides, I can't go home anymore. The Burrow is gone, Malfoy made sure of that!"

"Ginny," he reasoned, "It doesn't have to be that way. You still have a year of school left, but after that you can stay Hermione, or with the twins and your Mum. And you can always stay with me and Sirius."

Harry gave her a penetrating look that sent shivers up her spine. "There will always be that lingering fear haunting you. It haunts me too. Don't think that you're the only one who still has nightmares about him. But if you continue to live in fear of him, he wins. You can't allow yourself to let him run your life this way."

Ginny softened for a moment by his words. There was nothing more she wanted than to be with him again, and to let go of the past. But how could she? It was too hard. And what if he was wrong, and he died. She could never live with herself after that.

"I'm sorry Harry. I just can't do this," she shook her head, blinking away the tears in her eyes, as she got up from the table and began to walk out of the café.

"Ginny, wait!" he said, rushing out after her into the street. It was raining harder now, the storm was finally here.

"Harry!" she turned around at him, her anger swelling to its peak. "It's over. Do you understand? Over! And there is nothing you can do or say on earth, heaven or hell that will make me change my mind, so just leave me alone!" she spat at him, leaving him with a look on his face as though she'd just slapped him.

She simply walked away then, leaving him in the rain.


	2. Storm Part II

  
  


_Storm_ _Part II_

  
  


The telephone rang.

Ginny Weasley got up from her cushioned bench by the window. She had been staring out into the darkness for most of the night, watching the rain pour down in sheets, blanketing the oncoming thunderstorm. She knew who was ringing her; it was Harry, trying once again plead his case.

She debated in her mind whether or not to pick up the phone, but she knew Harry all too well. He would not stop until she picked it up.

Wrapping her robe around her even tighter, she picked up the receiver.

"Yes?"

"Don't hang up!" the voice said desperately.

"Harry, there is nothing else left to say. It's a mistake for us to be together. I see that, why won't you?"

"It's not a mistake Ginny. We can work through this. We've been through worse things before, " his voice assured her.

"It's different now Harry," she said. "The world is different. We are different. Things can't be the same as they were at school, not after all that's happened." 

Ginny could feel the pain in his voice as he tried to reason with her. Her own heart feeling torn apart was crying out for him as well. But she forced to herself to push those feelings aside, and listen to her head, which was telling her this was the right thing to do. She had to get off the phone with him, for she knew the more he talked, the more doubt about her feelings would creep into her mind. It had to stop.

The lights flickered above her. The full brunt of the storm would be here soon enough and the lights would be out.

"I'm sorry Harry, I have to go," she sighed, trying to hold back the mournful tears that were beginning to fall down her face.

"No Ginny, wait! If you only just listen to me,"

"Listen to what? Harry, we have to end it. Now, before it's too late, and we both get our hearts broken, or worse."

Harry pleaded once again, begging for her to understand. "That doesn't matter to me. All I want is to be with you. Nothing else matters."

His words were like a crowbar, beginning to pry open her heart and allow him in once again. Her determination began to waver and she felt herself giving in to her heart, which was aching to be with him more than ever.

But she was saved by another flickering of the lights, and Harry's voice was now nothing but dead air. The lights finally went out, and she was left alone in the darkness, save the glow of the nearby fire beginning to die out in the fireplace.

Wiping her tears away, Ginny took the incident as a good omen, and fought to keep the logical side in control, and the emotional side of herself in check. For a moment, she thought, if he had been there, she would have thrown everything away just to be with him.

"Goodbye Harry," she said softly and hung up the receiver.

The sound of thunder nearby shook the house, and the rain came down even harder now, pounding on the ceiling above her.

Guided by the light of the fire, she dug out some candles and lit them, placing them around the room before she returned to her seat by the window once again.

Ginny sobbed uncontrollably, leaning against the cool glass of the window with her forehead. She really did want to be with him. She always had. But things change, and she didn't see how it could possibly work out now.

She wondered to herself what it would have been like to have been together. It was torture to think about, but she didn't care. She longed to taste his sweet kisses from soft and slightly pouty lips. She imagined no longer having the cares she did now, allowing herself to have a family and make a home with him. Waking up to see his beautiful face every morning. Seeing the sparkle of his eyes whenever he looked at her, and the fantastic smile he would give her, instantly melting her heart.

But not anymore. It was only a silly little fantasy leftover from childhood that would never come true.

Another crash of thunder shook the flat, pounding the walls now. It seemed to continue for a moment longer than she expected it to, when suddenly she realized it was the door that was being pounded. Ginny wondered who on earth would be braving such a storm this night. Fixing her face as best she could in the dark, she grabbed a candle, and felt her way to the door.

The door opened to reveal a sopping wet Harry from head to toe.

"I can't let us end this way," he said simply, as the water streamed down his face, fogging his spectacles. A bright flash of lightning lit up the sky behind him. 

"Harry Potter, are you crazy? You're soaked! Have you not looked outside lately? There's a huge storm outside! Go away, you shouldn't have come," she shouted at him, her Weasley temper beginning to erupt in annoyance. She thought him mad; he wasn't even wearing a coat.

"I don't care. I'm not leaving until you listen to me."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Fine. Come inside and dry off, before you catch pneumonia or something," she said flatly. "I'll go fetch you a towel."

She set down the candle and walked to the bathroom, feeling his eyes following her as he stood there in the foyer, saying nothing.

Handing him the towel would have probably been her best bet in this situation, but her maternal instincts kicked in, and she began toweling him herself, muttering softly at his thick-headed behavior.

Suddenly, he grabbed her hands as she raised them up to his unkempt hair, the rain making it now stick in a black mat against his head. He looked at her with a desperate, almost hungry look in his eyes. Ginny tried to ignore it, and thought to pull away, but instead found herself stopping to stare back into those emerald green eyes full of longing and despair.

Harry raised his wet hand to her, caressing her smooth face, dried with tears. She trembled at his touch, but did not stop him as he leaned into her, his face dripping with the fresh rain she yearned to taste on her lips.

Those lips only barely brushed up against hers, teasing her with the warmth and softness of them. It took everything she had in her to refrain from kissing him back, and she put her hands up for him to stop. He pulled away only sightly, looking into her eyes again as he held her face in his hands.

"I love you Ginny Weasley. I always will. And there is nothing on this earth, heaven or hell that will make me think otherwise."

Ginny looked back at him, biting her lip as she held back the tears in her eyes once again. "I'm not worthy of you," she sputtered out. "Of all the things I have done, you can't possibly . . ."

"Yes I can," Harry said, cocking his head slightly, a small smile forming on his face. "You don't have to be afraid anymore. Let me love you Ginny."

He came at her again slowly, now kissing her tenderly on the lips. Perhaps it was the passion of the moment, or rather realizing that Voldemort's power over her really _didn't _matter anymore, and that she was a fool for not believing in Harry, in their love, and that she no longer had to be afraid of it, but Ginny was overcome by her desire for him, and she wrapped her arms about his neck deepening their kiss.

Harry pulled her closer to him, pulling loose the messy knot that her auburn hair had been tied into, letting her hair fall easily around her shoulders. She embraced him back tightly as his tender kisses swept past her lips and trailed toward her neck and shoulder.

"Make me yours Harry, make me yours," she whispered in his ear, ready to unleash the wanton woman that had been kept inside herself for far too long.

They continued to kiss deliriously as she peeled the wet shirt from his body, exposing a smooth, moist chest, toned from Quidditch training, kissing it as she did so. In turn, Harry brushed away her own robe, leaving her with nothing but the thin camisole and panties she wore underneath. She felt his hand wander to a small patch of skin near the small of her back, causing her to shudder slightly from the tingle it gave to her pelvis. His other hand ventured further down, cupping the back of her thigh beneath her buttocks, and pulling her leg up, drawing her even closer to him for balance.

Another roll of thunder roared above them as the storm moved closer, and a soft moan came from Ginny as she tilted her head back, arching her head back enough to thrust her pelvis forward, feeling the growing tightness in his still-damp jeans.

Taking advantage of the access to her neck and shoulders she now gave him, Harry sucked and kissed them, occasionally grazing his teeth over her skin as he pulled down the strap of her camisole. Ginny traced a line down his chest to his navel, sliding her finger between him and his jeans, running it back and forth along the seam, causing him to moan himself.

He pulled away slightly to look at her, the same longing and desire now burning in the darkness of her eyes as his own. He took hold of her standing leg, lifting her small frame up from the floor. She wrapped her legs about his waist, as he carried her to the sofa. He kneeled down on the floor, resting her on the cushions.

The light from the candles around them guided her as she slowly unbuttoned his jeans, and Harry sighed with relief at the release of pressure. He captured her mouth again in another breathtaking kiss. As his hand traveled back up to her hips, he slowly probed her mouth gently with his tongue. 

Thunder clapped behind lightning again as Harry's hands slowly rose from her hips, and with one swift stroke, pulled her camisole over her head. She raised her arms in sync to accommodate the movement, and reciprocated his fevered kisses as his hands slowly glided back down the gentle slopes of her freckled arms, working inwards to her breasts, which now heaved along with the shortness of her breaths.

Nestling in the valley of her cleavage, Harry gently cupped and rubbed her firm breasts, and Ginny ran her hands though his untidy hair, embracing the warmth of his body, as he put a hand behind her back, slowly laying her down into the cushions of the sofa, continuing to lap and suckle at her hardened pink nipples, arousing her to such a state of ecstasy that she moaned even louder, encouraging his actions.

Harry continued the strokes of his hands down around her navel, teasing her. When she thought she couldn't take anymore, his warm finger fished into her panties, stroking her softly, feeling the growing wetness from within. She raised her hips to meet his hand, beginning to feel the pulsating warmth centering inside, flushing her body. As if to tease her further, he inserted a finger deep inside her. Ginny bucked hard at the sudden penetration, and she grabbed him firmly by the shoulders, pulling him down on her.

He returned to her mouth, kissing her more fiercely than before. She pushed him off her, and slid off the cushions to the floor with him in front of the fireplace, now assisting him with the removal of his own clothes, still kissing him feverishly. 

They laid down some blankets she kept on the back of the couch onto the floor, and Ginny rolled Harry onto his back, kissing the almost concave hollow of his chest, and worked her way down to his navel to meet her hands, which were already busy stroking his smooth organ. 

He moaned with immense pleasure as she took him into her mouth, grasping her hair in his fingers and gently working his hips to accommodate her motions. She stopped when she realized that Harry's body was beginning to tense up, and he was groaning harder.

Turning her back over onto the soft blankets, he looked at her, tears forming in his eyes. "My god, you're beautiful," he said adoringly, brushing tangles of russet hair away from her face. 

"Oh Harry, I love you so much," she pledged back.

Harry continued to look in her eyes, with an intensity that she had never seen before. He leaned over her, the tip of his throbbing member pressed up to her. Ginny grabbed hold of the backs of his shoulders, bracing herself for what he was about to do.

Thunder crashed over them as he plunged himself to his hilt, and Ginny screamed with pleasure and pain at the pressure she felt deep inside her. Harry thrust into her again, putting the weight of his body into her, slowly, but forcefully. She joined him in his slow rhythm, gasping in shortened breaths to match his own, but never breaking the eye contact between them, afraid to lose the moment of passion, devotion and love between them.

She could see the once green meadows of the Burrow in his eyes, the sloping hills of grasses and wildflowers of her childhood home were all there. In reality they were gone now, but she could almost feel the warm summer breeze around her again, and she could keep it in her heart forever if she could only stay focused on him, concentrating on his eyes.

As if paced by the storm above them, their fevered bodies ground together in unison at a quickening pace. Ginny strained to keep her eyes locked with Harry's, feeling herself tighten around him, as the cascading waves of pleasure began to mount over her, flushing her body once again. 

Harry's expression began to change also in an another desperate look. She lowered her hands from his sweaty back, down his arms to his hands, lacing her fingers between his own, continuing to hold the intense gaze between them, until she could hold it no longer. Her eyes rolled back into her head as it tilted it back, and she cried out in ecstasy, and the white-hot sensations from her center exploded, flowing throughout her body. Harry joined her moments later, whimpering her name before he finally crashed into her in a final blow, emptying his own soul into her.

Ginny wrapped her arms about Harry as they laid there, a sweaty heap of entangled limbs. She could feel his hot breaths against her neck, warming her. She started to shift herself beneath the weight of him when she heard him whisper with bated breath, "Don't move."

"But I want to move."

"Don't move."

She relaxed her body once more and Harry slowly pushed himself up enough to look into her eyes again, yet remain snugly inside of her.

"I will never stop loving you, never. You don't have to be afraid anymore," he said intently. "Remember that."

"Yes," she said softly. And pulled him back to her, kissing him tenderly.

She would never forget again.


End file.
